Various imaging applications use compact optoelectronic modules that can be integrated, for example, within personal computing devices such as smart phones, tablets, laptops or personal computers. In some applications, the module can include a light source to project a structured light pattern onto a scene that includes one or more objects of interest. Light from the projected pattern is reflected by the objects in the scene and is sensed by one or more imagers for use, for example, in stereo matching to generate a three-dimensional image. The structured light can provide additional texture for matching pixels in the stereo images.
One challenge, however, in designing a light projector to project a pattern onto the scene is how to replicate, in an effective manner, a particular pattern in the far field (i.e., on the objects in the scene).